Yes, I framed the requests as a joke upon the “no money” idea, with someone greedily making demands from a counselor they don’t need to pay either. But even if they were made politely with formal paperwork, I’m sure they would be quite difficult if not impossible to accomplish.
Ok, thanks for clarifying its a joke. But to me, it never made sense that in a non-monetary system people would suddenly and greedily want everything and anything.
This is more of a common misconception that people who WATCH Trek make because they don't live in such a setting (nor did they grow up in it) and make certain projections and assumptions that wouldn't even apply even if it was real life.
Trek Humans (and most UFP civilizations) grew up in in a non-monetary setting to begin with and are happy not living 'extravagantly' (in fact, in a society without 'classes' and money, most people wouldn't have a need for things that are advertised for rich people in the present system)... therefore, its a way of life for them.
For an average human in early 21st century who grew up in capitalism (that is if they are a classical example of system influencing them to be greedy, selfish and competitive like a lot of them behave, etc.), they might demand a lot of stuff in an unrealistic fashion if they suddenly found themselves in such a setting (but the large portion of the majority would likely describe just how futile those things are and try to get that person to find the things they'd actually be happy with) - which is why Humanity in real life would need a transitional period (of say 5 to 10 years - probably 2 to 5) into say a non-monetary system such as RBE/TVP to acclimate to the idea of no money and to understand how it would work - and during this period, you'd see the values of many people shifting with most of artificiality that Capitalism props up vanish into obscurity (I mean, look at how fast society changed overnight in the face of the pandemic... it shows we have the capacity for massive change at incredible speeds if there's a backing from those in power [in the present system] for it).
Also, not everyone for example wants a yacht, a beach house, a mansion, etc. To me (and many others), those are incredibly stupid and wasteful (aka not important whatsoever).
Trek humans and other UFP civilizations would likely have a similar view of those things - aka, unimportant for personal 'ownership' (also, why bother, when they can probably just have ACCESS to those things so they can USE them whenever they want to in the first place?).
Besides, if you lived in UFP, you'd likely be able to go anywhere within UFP you wanted to without restrictions to live, explore, contribute, etc. (similar to EU - but without the actual need to do a 'job' to 'earn a living - but rather you'd probably use your skills - whatever they are - either way to improve yourself and learn more about the world you live in and contribute however you deemed fit).
As such, I wouldn't be so sure it would be very difficult or impossible to get your own starship.
Owning a personal ship would be no different than owning a yacht today you can’t possibly run on your own, as opposed to simply paying for a cruise from time to time. We’re basically saying that’s not a dream you can have unless you’ve decided to move outside the Federation. Even if credits exist for the purpose of expressing an “allowance”, they would not be something you could invest and accumulate towards a personal goal, and I’m sure that counseling (with a counselor) or relocation would be advised if that were an issue.
You might not be able to get a full blown starship immediately, but something along the lines of a shuttlecraft or runabout to get you going is probably how it might be accomplished if you're starting out on your own.
If you have a crew standing by, they might give you an older ship like someone mentioned.
It would depend on the individual's needs - similar to how some people select a laptop today based on what you usually use it for.
And on top of that, UFP as such would probably want you to have some knowledge of shuttle/ship operations so that you can conduct maintenance and repair in case the automated systems are not functional - after all, they wouldn't want to be responsible for a person just setting out into space with 0 knowledge of anything).
I would also imagine that getting to a shuttle or a runabout would be far easier than owning a yacht today. For example... no money to get in the way for starters.
The only thing I can think of is that you would be asked, is to finish some short courses in the local holodeck for training purposes and 3 to 6 months to about a year, you'd probably be able to get on that shuttle/runabout and go on your merry way once the individual who oversees these things checks over that your training is complete and that you've learned the fundamentals of ship operations.
To be fair though, I would expect that most people in UFP would be exposed to relevant general education, critical thinking and problem solving... so by the time they mature, they would have the bare minimum in their grasp and would require minimal training on how to operate a shuttle/runabout - and in the 23rd and 24th century, it would be rather simple what with automation.
Full fledged starships can come later if you're really set on it (and again, you will probably have to determine what you want to use it for to make it useful - many people today who think they want 'big things' end up regretting them and just downscale anyway)... and would you really want to live on a huge starship like a Galaxy class by yourself? Eh, maybe if I can program it with a holographic crew of my choice.
Honestly, something the size of the Delta Flyer or La Serena (but better designed) would do me with upgradeability in mind.
If I wanted a big ship, I'd probably share it with others - otherwise, it would seem like a massive waste of resources if it was just for me.
